Monterey County, California

Monterey County, California
Monterey County, California
	— County —
	Big Sur Coastline, an iconic image of Monterey County
	; Seal
	; Seal
	Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	California Central Coast
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
Named for	Monterey Bay
County seat	Salinas
Largest City	Salinas
	Area
• Total	3,771.07 sq mi (9,767.0 km2)
• Land	3,321.95 sq mi (8,603.8 km2)
• Water	449.12 sq mi (1,163.2 km2)
	Population (2010)
• Total	415,057
• Density	110/sq mi (42/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.co.monterey.ca.us

For the California wine region, see Monterey AVA.

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057.^[2] The county seat and largest city is Salinas. Monterey County is a member of the regional governmental agency, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

The coastline, including Big Sur, State Route 1, and the 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula has made the county world famous. The city of Monterey was the capital of California under Spanish and Mexican rule. The economy is primarily based upon tourism in the coastal regions, and agriculture in the Salinas River valley. Most of the county's people live near the northern coast and Salinas valley, while the southern coast and inland mountain regions are almost devoid of human habitation.

History [edit]

Monterey County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to San Benito County in 1874.

The county derived its name from Monterey Bay. The bay was named by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602 in honor of the Conde de Monterrey (or 'Count of Monterrey'), then the Viceroy of New Spain.^[3] Monterrey is a variation of Monterrei, a municipality in the Galicia region of Spain where the Conde de Monterrey and his father (the Fourth Count of Monterrei) were from.

Geography [edit]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,771.07 square miles (9,767.0 km²), of which 3,321.95 square miles (8,603.8 km²) (or 88.09%) is land and 449.12 square miles (1,163.2 km²) (or 11.91%) is water.^[4] The county is roughly 1.5 times larger than the state of Delaware, and roughly similar in population and size to Santa Barbara County.

Cities and towns [edit]

Census-designated places [edit]

Aromas
Boronda
Bradley
Carmel Valley Village
Castroville
Chualar
Del Monte Forest, includes the well-known community of Pebble Beach
Elkhorn
Las Lomas
Lockwood
Moss Landing
Pajaro
Pine Canyon
Prunedale
San Ardo
San Lucas
Spreckels

Other unincorporated communities [edit]

Other locales [edit]

Big Sur includes the areas of Lucia, California and Gorda, California
Laguna Seca Ranch
Fort Ord decommissioned in the 1990s, some of it was converted to California State University, Monterey Bay
Naval Postgraduate School
Fort Hunter Liggett
Presidio of Monterey, home to the Defense Language Institute and one of three presidios in California
Jacks Peak Park, including the highest point on the Monterey Peninsula

Adjacent counties [edit]

Monterey

Counties and bodies of water adjacent to Monterey County, California

National protected areas [edit]

Marine protected areas [edit]

Transportation infrastructure [edit]

Major highways [edit]

Wikinews has related news: French tourists killed in California bus rollover accident

Public transportation [edit]

Monterey County is served by Amtrak trains and Greyhound Lines buses. Monterey-Salinas Transit provides transit service throughout most of Monterey County, with buses to Big Sur and King City as well as in Monterey, Salinas and Carmel. MST also runs service to San Jose, California in Santa Clara County

Airports [edit]

Monterey Regional Airport is located just east of the City of Monterey. Commercial flights are available.
Marina Municipal Airport is located in the city of Marina.

Salinas Municipal Airport is located in the city of Salinas

Demographics [edit]

2010 [edit]

The 2010 United States Census reported that Monterey County had a population of 415,057. The racial makeup of Monterey County was 230,717 (55.6%) White, 12,785 (3.1%) African American, 5,464 (1.3%) Native American, 25,258 (6.1%) Asian (2.8% Filipino, 0.7% Korean, 0.6% Chinese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.4% Indian), 2,071 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 117,405 (28.3%) from other races, and 21,357 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 230,003 persons (55.4%); 50.2% of Monterey County is Mexican, 0.8% Salvadoran, and 0.5% Puerto Rican.^[5]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Monterey County	415,057	230,717	12,785	5,464	25,258	2,071	117,405	21,357	230,003
Incorporated city	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Carmel-by-the-Sea	3,722	3,464	11	8	111	6	45	77	174
Del Rey Oaks	1,624	1,326	16	12	128	4	52	86	169
Gonzales	8,187	3,464	81	124	190	14	3,958	356	7,276
Greenfield	16,330	5,976	183	878	179	13	8,453	648	14,917
King City	12,874	6,173	150	347	172	8	5,451	573	11,266
Marina	19,718	8,904	1,487	140	3,931	544	2,738	1,974	5,372
Monterey	27,810	21,788	777	149	2,204	91	1,382	1,419	3,817
Pacific Grove	15,041	12,710	199	78	872	49	469	664	1,615
Salinas	150,441	68,973	2,993	1,888	9,438	478	59,041	7,630	112,799
Sand City	334	223	13	3	16	1	61	17	123
Seaside	33,025	15,978	2,783	347	3,206	529	7,579	2,603	14,347
Soledad	25,738	12,625	2,945	367	757	103	8,189	752	18,308
Census-designated place	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Aromas‡	1,358	1,026	7	24	35	1	194	71	511
Boronda	1,710	661	10	26	116	7	774	116	1,457
Bradley	93	85	0	2	0	0	5	1	11
Carmel Valley Village	4,407	4,044	21	22	70	11	120	119	328
Castroville	6,481	2,807	96	96	169	9	2,955	349	5,841
Chualar	1,190	337	1	2	11	0	827	12	1,151
Del Monte Forest	4,514	3,922	43	10	388	3	57	91	167
Elkhorn	1,565	1,122	9	7	63	3	286	75	588
Las Lomas	3,024	1,167	37	93	53	24	1,490	160	2,696
Lockwood	379	297	4	6	2	0	56	14	100
Moss Landing	204	149	7	1	2	1	30	14	46
Pajaro	3,070	1,451	15	78	53	0	1,281	192	2,889
Pine Canyon	1,822	1,173	29	15	18	0	490	97	984
Prunedale	17,560	11,771	177	199	672	58	3,639	1,044	7,322
San Ardo	517	252	1	3	5	0	245	11	363
San Lucas	269	113	0	4	6	0	127	19	224
Spreckels	673	483	0	13	26	0	130	21	193
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	51,377	38,253	690	522	2,365	114	7,281	2,152	14,949
‡ Note: these numbers reflect only the portion of this CDP in Monterey County

2000 [edit]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,872	—
1860	4,739	153.2%
1870	9,876	108.4%
1880	11,302	14.4%
1890	18,637	64.9%
1900	19,380	4.0%
1910	24,146	24.6%
1920	27,980	15.9%
1930	53,705	91.9%
1940	73,032	36.0%
1950	130,498	78.7%
1960	198,351	52.0%
1970	250,071	26.1%
1980	290,444	16.1%
1990	355,660	22.5%
2000	401,762	13.0%
2010	415,057	3.3%
^[6]^[7]^[8]

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 401,762 people, 121,236 households, and 87,896 families residing in the county. The population density was 121 people per square mile (47/km²). There were 131,708 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 55.9% White, 3.8% Black or African American, 1.1% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 27.8% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. 46.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 6.3% were of German and 5.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 52.9% spoke English, 39.6% Spanish and 1.6% Tagalog as their first language.

There were 121,236 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.65.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 female residents there were 107.3 male residents. For every 100 female residents age 18 and over, there were 107.7 male residents.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,305, and the median income for a family was $51,169. Men had a median income of $38,444 versus $30,036 for women. The per capita income for the county was $20,165. About 9.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government [edit]

At the local level, Monterey County is governed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Like all governing body in California, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is empowered with both legislative and executive authority over the entirety of Monterey County and is the primary governing body for all unincorporated areas within the County boundaries. The Board has five elected members, each of whom represents one of five districts. Taken together, the five districts comprise the entirety of the county.^[10]

Current board members:

Fernando Armenta - 1st District
Louis Calcagno - 2nd District
Simon Salinas - 3rd District
Jane Parker - 4th District
Dave Potter - 5th District (current Board Chair)

The Board conducts its meetings in the county seat, Salinas, and is a member of the regional governmental agency, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.^[11]^[12]

Supervisorial Districts [edit]

Supervisorial district boundaries are divided roughly equally according to population, using data from the most recent census.^[13] In addition, any redistricting changes must comply with both California law as well as the federal Voting Rights Act.^[13] Boundaries are adjusted decennially based on data reported by the United States Census Bureau for the most recent census.^[13]

District 1 [edit]

The 1st District is geographically the smallest supervisorial district in Monterey County and falls entirely within the city limits of the city of Salinas.^[10]^[14]

Fernando Armenta represents the 1st District on the Board of Supervisors.^[15] His current term expires in January, 2013.^[10]

District 2 [edit]

As the northernmost supervisorial district in Monterey County, the 2nd District includes the communities of Boronda, Castroville, Las Lomas, Moss Landing, Pajaro, Prunedale, Royal Oaks, the northern neighborhoods of the city of Salinas, and those portions of the community of Aromas that are located within Monterey County.^[10]^[16]

Louis Calcagno is currently the Supervisor for the 2nd District.^[17] His current term ends in January, 2015.^[10]

District 3 [edit]

The 3rd District covers the majority of the Salinas Valley and southern Monterey County, extending to its border with San Luis Obispo County. The district includes the unincorporated communities of Spreckels, Chualar, and Jolon; the eastern portion of the city of Salinas; the cities of Gonzales, Greenfield, Soledad, and King City; the military installations at Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts; and portions of the Los Padres National Forest.^[10]^[18]

The 3rd District is represented by Simon Salinas.^[19] His current term ends in January, 2015.^[10]

District 4 [edit]

The 4th District includes the southwest portion of the city of Salinas, the cities of Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Seaside, Sand City, and the former military installation at Fort Ord.^[10]^[20]

Jane Parker currently holds the seat for 4th District Supervisor.^[21] Her current term ends in January, 2013.^[10] However, having won reelection in June 2012, Parker's next term will extend until January, 2017.^[22]

District 5 [edit]

The 5th District is geographically the largest of the five supervisorial districts, and covers most of the Monterey Peninsula and southern coastline of Monterey County down to the southern county border with San Luis Obispo County. The 5th District includes the cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, and Pacific Grove; the unincorporated communities of Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Pebble Beach, San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, and Jamesburg; military installations at the Presidio of Monterey, the Defense Language Institute, and the Naval Postgraduate School; and the Ventana Wilderness area of the Los Padres National Forest.^[10]^[23]^[24]

Dave Potter is currently the 5th District Supervisor.^[10] His current term ends in January, 2013.^[10]

State and Federal Representatives [edit]

Monterey is part of California's 17th congressional district, which is represented by Democrat Sam Farr. In the State Assembly, Monterey is part of the 27th and 28th districts, which are held by Democrats Bill Monning and Anna Caballero, respectively. Monning was first elected to the Assembly in November 2008; Caballero in November 2006. In the State Senate, a small part of Monterey is in the 12th district; most of the county is in the 15th. The 12th district is held by Republican Anthony Cannella and the 15th by Republican Sam Blakeslee, who is considered to be moderate.^{[citation needed]} Cannella was first elected to the Senate in November 2010; Blakeslee in August 2010.

Politics [edit]

Monterey County vote
by party in presidential elections
Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2012	31.1% 35,205	66.5% 75,354	2.4% 2,696
2008	29.9% 38,797	68.2% 88,453	2.0% 2,533
2004	38.4% 47,838	60.4% 75,241	1.3% 1,574
2000	37.2% 43,761	57.5% 67,618	5.2% 6,155
1996	36.7% 39,794	53.2% 57,700	10.2% 11,064
1992	31.3% 36,461	47.0% 54,861	21.7% 25,367
1988	49.8% 50,022	48.8% 48,998	1.4% 1,361
1984	57.2% 55,710	41.8% 40,733	1.1% 1,027
1980	54.7% 47,452	33.5% 29,086	11.8% 10,256
1976	51.0% 40,896	46.0% 36,849	3.0% 2,408
1972	57.0% 47,004	39.5% 32,545	3.5% 2,859
1968	50.2% 33,670	42.1% 28,261	7.7% 5,193
1964	37.9% 24,579	61.8% 40,093	0.3% 172
1960	56.3% 33,428	43.4% 25,805	0.3% 180
1956	59.5% 29,514	40.2% 19,932	0.3% 127
1952	62.5% 30,578	36.9% 18,051	0.6% 286
1948	50.6% 17,233	46.1% 15,704	3.3% 1,126
1944	45.8% 12,246	53.7% 14,342	0.5% 140
1940	44.0% 11,810	55.0% 14,758	1.0% 265
1936	37.7% 7,565	61.1% 12,267	1.2% 235
1932	39.4% 6,200	56.8% 8,942	3.9% 608
1928	63.1% 7,228	36.1% 4,138	0.8% 86
1924	61.1% 4,744	11.4% 886	27.5% 2,138
1920	67.8% 4,817	24.9% 1,771	7.3% 521

Monterey County is considered to be a strongly Democratic county in Presidential and congressional elections. The county voted for Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in the 2008 election. The last Republican to win the county was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

According to the California Secretary of State, as of April, 2008, Monterey County has 147,066 registered voters. Of those voters, 72,550 (49.3%) are registered Democratic, 42,744 (29.1%) are registered Republican, 5,488 (3.7%) are registered with other political parties, and 26,284 (17.9%) declined to state a political party. Except for Sand City, all of the other cities, towns, and the unincorporated area of Monterey County have more individuals registered with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. In Sand City, the Republicans have the advantage by 1 voter.

On Nov. 4, 2008 Monterey County voted 51.7% against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Monterey County is subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires federal preclearance before implementing a change to "any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting."

Environmental features [edit]

Monterey County has habitat to support the following endangered species:

Media [edit]

See also: Media in Monterey County

Television service for the community comes from the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz designated market area (DMA). Radio stations Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz area of dominant influence (ADI) or continuous measurement market (CMM). Local newspapers include the Monterey County Herald, Monterey County Weekly, Salinas Californian and the Carmel Pine Cone.

Home prices [edit]

As of December 2005, Monterey County ranked among America's ten most expensive counties, with Santa Barbara County topping the list with a median home price of $753,790. In Monterey County, the median home price was $699,900. In the northern, more densely populated part in the county, the median home price was even higher, at $712,500, making it the fourth most expensive housing market in California. The disparity between the median household income of roughly $48,305 and the median home price of $700k has been cause for recent concern over excluding potential home buyers from the market. The end of the United States housing bubble has caused prices to drop substantially, with median home prices having fallen to $280,000 as at September 2008.^[25]

Gallery of Monterey County locations (by city) [edit]

Big Sur - Midcounty coastline with the McWay Rocks in foreground
California State University at Monterey Bay
Carmel-by-the-Sea - Beach scene
Carmel-by-the-Sea - Golden Bough Playhouse
Carmel-by-the-Sea - Forest Theater
Castroville - main entrance to the city
Gonzales - Water tower
Gorda, California - A view of the Pacific Ocean
Marina neighborhood
Monterey - Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey - Cannery Row
Monterey - Fisherman's Wharf
Monterey - Commercial Wharf
Monterey - Beachside recreational trail
Monterey - Scuba diving lessons in Monterey Bay
Monterey County - Strawberry fields in rural area
Salinas - John Steinbeck's former Home
Marina Sunset
Monterey - Colton Hall
Salinas - Typical ranch style house
Salinas - An average 1,800 sq ft (170 m²) home in the desirable north-western district, formerly valued at roughly $700k
Salinas - Residential neighborhood at Harden Ranch, Salinas
Salinas - Downtown
Salinas - National Steinbeck Center
Soledad - Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad